Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


5.04.2004  

Temple

Tired...tired...tired...very, very tired. I'm so tired right now it's not even my eyes that are aching with a dull burn, but the eye sockets themselves. Yeesh.



In 2 Corinthians 6:16, God says "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Yesterday, as I read that, it struck me that I am the very temple of God. The temple. King David wanted to build one, yet God would not allow him; it was to be for David's son Solomon to do. It was, to all of Israel, not simply a representation of where God resided, it was where God resided. He dwelt within the temple, and access to Him was highly regulated, as common people could not just go into the presence of God. Rather, God gave the priests to Israel to intercede and make atonement for sins, and thereby "satisfy" God's wrath toward His sinful children.



But you know what? Such sacrifices never satisfied God. That was the whole point. No matter how much blood was spilled, no matter how much atonement made, true atonement was not within our grasp.



Yet, here I am, naught but a common man, nothing priestly within my lineage, and I can freely enter the presence of God. Why? Look at what the first part of verse 16 says: "Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God." We are the temple of the living God.



There's so much wrapped up in that statement, so much that I take for granted, so much that is over my head. The high priest, during the yearly sacrifice (see Leviticus 16), had to take special care that he was "clean" before the Lord. If not, he would be struck dead when he entered the Most Holy Place. Christ, as our High Priest, is the One who grasps us with His atonement. I, as the temple of the living God, am now carrying within me the very presence of God, His Spirit. How so very tiny my grasp is of those truths! I do not take them seriously, nor am I changed by them as I ought to be.



Last night was the last dorm meeting of the semester. Leeman gave an excellent message that was, as he put it, his swan song. He's ending his tour as Student Life Coordinator for the boys of Boyce. It's a sad thing, but it's a necessary thing, and therefore a good thing. He won't be going anywhere, and he'll be teaching my Political Science class this Fall. I think I have a thing for guys named Jonathan...or, perhaps to put it in perspective, God loves to bless me through guys named Jonathan.



Jim is finishing up at Boyce, too. He's graduating on the 14th, then he'll be going back home to Maryland to attend Sovereign Grace Ministry's Pastor's College. Blind Brandon and Rob will be driving with him and his stuff in a U-Haul trailer to help him move and keep him company. It's crazy to think that he'll really be leaving so soon...it seems like just yesterday we were chilling in downtown Louisville at the New Attitude '04 conference, hitting Steak 'N Shake late at night...almost every night :) Crazy stuff, really. Before long, the Fall will be here. New students, new memories.



But first, I've got some finals to take care of. *Sigh*...

posted by Bolo | 9:44 PM
0 speakage
Free Hit
Counters
Dell Coupons
Daily
Read
Listen
Visualize
Blogging Buddies
Old School
Me
Bug Me
Yore
Factuality
Quotatious